Chapter Four
Stella was thrilled when Blaise, Theodore, and Draco joined her in the common room the next night, Stella having stayed in the common room with a sandwich that had somehow appeared next to her at dinner time. The three demanded to see her ring and she rolled her eyes before showing them. Theodore and Blaise thought it looked cool but Draco had a hunger in his eyes that made Stella feel uneasy.
Stella was feeling rather bored, having read ahead and studied further than her classmates. She needed something fun to do. So, she sought out her older brothers. Fred and George smiled when they saw her standing outside of their class, Blaise and Theodore close by.
"What can we do for our favorite adoptive sister?" Fred smirked.
"I'm bored," she admitted to them and all three shared conspirator smiles, causing Lee, Theodore, and Blaise to share uncomfortable looks.
Stella snuck through the dungeon later that night, finding Fred and George waiting for her by the dungeon entrance. She followed behind them, the two bent over a bit of parchment that they wouldn't let her see. They stopped in front of a picture of fruit. George sent Stella a wink before tickling the pair and causing a doorknob to appear. She stared in wonder as George opened the door, revealing the kitchen filled with house elves. Fred pushed her into the kitchen and she finally let out a laugh of disbelief.
The three moved around the kitchen, placing hiccough sweets on the dessert plates and grabbing chocolate chip cookies to hide what they were doing. Nose-biting teacups were mixed in with the other cups at random and Stella hoped she didn't end up accidentally picking one up, deciding to have juice in the morning instead.
The next morning, Draco picked up a teacup, only to drop it with a gasp as it tried to take a bite out of his nose. Crabbe and Goyle began to cough and hiccup at the same time. Theodore picked up a sweet and Stella grabbed his arm, shaking her head before going back to her own breakfast, not touching her tea just in case. Theodore smirked, setting the sweet down and rolling his eyes as Crabbe grabbed the one he'd just set down, popping it into his mouth and making his hiccoughing worst. Later that day, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle entered the common room, laughing loudly.
"Did you see his face?" Crabbe laughed.
"Did you see him hop?" Goyle asked in response.
"Who was hopping?" Blaise asked curiously.
"Longbottom," Draco smirked. "Did a leglock jinx on him when he was coming out of the library."
"Why?" Stella asked, confused.
"Because he's Longbottom," Draco shrugged, going to join the other first years.
Stella closed her book, chewing her lip for a moment before looking up and seeing both Blaise and Theodore already watching her.
"Let's go," Blaise sighed. "We better hurry if we want to be back before curfew."
"Thank you," Stella whispered to them both as they left the common room and headed up to Gryffindor tower.
Stella knocked on the fat lady's portrait, gaining her attention.
"Oh. It's you," she rolled her eyes.
"Lionheart," Stella spoke clearly and the portrait groaned as she swung open.
"Why do you know the Gryffindor password?" Blaise asked.
"Just pretend you didn't hear it," Stella told him, walking into the Gryffindor common room and causing a few people to turn towards her and the two boys that regularly accompanied her around the castle. "Oi! Ron! Where's Neville?"
"Are you going to jinx him, too?" a second-year demanded, glaring at her.
"Yes. I came all the way from the dungeons and made it known that it was me walking in here, just to jinx your classmate in front of all of you without expecting any sort of repercussions," Stella rolled her eyes before Ron walked over to her.
"He's in our room. Said he was going to bed," Ron told her. "He said Draco jinxed him."
"I heard," Stella nodded. "I came to make sure he was alright and see if the jinx had been removed."
"I took it off," Hermione said, chin raised as she tried to look down it at Stella. "You shouldn't be here."
"And you shouldn't hold your nose that high in the air. I can see up it from here," Stella shot back before looking to Ron, who simply nodded, giving Stella permission to go up to his room. She turned to Blaise and Theodore before moving. "I'll be right back. My brothers won't let anything happen to you while I'm gone."
The two boys nodded and Fred and George went to them, staring at the other Gryffindors with raised brows, as if daring them to even try. Stella walked up to the first year boys dorm, knocking gently. Neville opened the door, eyes widening when he saw her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, sounding a bit terrified.
"Malfoy was bragging in the common room. I wanted to come check on you. Are you alright? Do you want me to go with you to a teacher?" Stella asked.
"Oh. No, thanks," Neville shook his head.
"If you change your mind, just let me know," Stella told him, giving him a smile before pulling a hiccoughing sweet from her pocket. "Here. A hiccoughing sweet for your troubles. Use it as you wish."
"Thanks, Black," Neville smiled.
"Call me Stella," she told him. "See ya, Neville."
Neville smiled as he watched her go before shutting the door and placing the sweet aside. Stella made her way back to the common room, giving Harry a wave before hugging Ron and nodding to the twins before leaving with Blaise and Theodore. They moved quickly back to the dungeons, making it just in time before Snape walked out of his office, eyes narrowed before they landed on Stella.
"Black," he stated, holding his office door open.
Stella let out an audible groan as she walked into Snape's office, causing a few people to laugh at how dramatic she was being. Stella took her normal spot in Snape's office, worried that maybe she shouldn't have a normal spot in his office in the process. He sat behind his desk, hands crossed in front of him and resting on his desk as he stared at her. Stella fidgeted in her seat a bit, not sure why she was being called into his office. He finally broke the silence.
"Would you like to tell me where you just were?" he asked.
"Gryffindor tower," she admitted.
"Why?"
"Neville got hit with a jinx and I wanted to check on him," Stella shrugged.
"Do you know anything about the teacups and sweets from this morning?"
"No, sir," Stella lied without missing a beat.
"I already know it was you and the Weasley twins," he told her.
"I have no clue what you mean, sir," Stella shook her head.
"The house elves told me."
"Traitors," Stella grumbled, arms crossing over her chest. "Alright, fine. It was me. I was bored, sir."
"Bored?" he asked, brows raised.
"Yes, sir," Stella nodded, sinking in her seat a bit.
"Detention for the next week," he told her. "Actual detentions as well."
"Yes, sir," Stella moaned, sinking further.
"Sit up and stop complaining. You did it to yourself."
"Yes sir," Stella sighed, sitting up before hearing Sirius Black in her head again. "Sir. Can I ask for your help with something?"
"I will not be replacing your teacups," he rolled his eyes.
"No, sir," Stella let out a laugh before shaking her head and glaring at her ring. "It's my heir ring, sir."
"What of it?"
Stella took a few deep breaths before looking up at Snape.
"Heirs and the head of houses can hear one another through their rings," she admitted to him.
"What?" Snape asked, eyes widening.
"I can hear Sirius Black when he fiddles with his ring and, if I wanted to, I could speak back to him. He sounds absolutely mad, though. He keeps repeating his name over and over. I was hoping you could help me block his thoughts maybe?"
"How long had this been happening?" Snape asked, standing and coming around his desk before kneeling beside her.
"The whole time," she admitted, taking off the ring and passing it to him. "It's a bit annoying actually. It just happens at random. He goes on strange tandems at times about my name or repeating other people's names, including Harry's parents."
"Potter's parents?" Snape asked, staring at Stella with wide eyes.
"Just saying their names," Stella shrugged as she stared at the ring in Snape's hands, not really looking at him as she thought of Sirius's words, calling Harry's parents his friends. "I don't want to hear it anymore though."
"I'll look the ring over. Is it alright if I have Professor Flitwick look it over with me?" he asked, voice soft and Stella nodded, wringing her hands together. "Off you go."
Stella nodded again, leaving Snape's office and going straight to her room. She laid on her bed, staring up at the ceiling and unmoving. The next day, Stella walked through the halls, sitting in her classes and remaining silent, eyes blank as she stared at her desk, not taking notes or even attempting to pay attention to the teachers. Blaise and Theodore had tried speaking to her all day and were getting rather worried at how unresponsive she was being. Ron noticed during charms and his eyes grew wide before he walked over, ignoring Flitwick as he took Stella's arm carefully and pulled her out of the classroom and towards the hospital wing.
Madam Pomfrey was rather confused by their presence before Ron whispered softly to her. Stella was led to a bed then, Ron getting her to lay down. He removed her shoes and pulled a blanket over her before kissing her head and leaving her in Madam Pomfrey's capable hands. Pomfrey got Stella to take a calming draught, Snape strutting into the hospital wing as Stella's eyes fluttered closed and she fell asleep due to a dreamless sleep potion that Pomfrey also got her to take.
"What's happened?" Snape asked.
"Mister Weasley brought her in. Says she gets like this sometimes and that his mother gives her a calming draught and a dreamless sleep and she's fine by morning. I've done the same."
"Gets like what?" Snape asked.
"Unresponsive. Staring into the distance but not seeing anything. I believe it's a panic attack."
"What is she panicking about?" Snape asked before he realized the answer to the question. "Silly girl. She should have come to me sooner."
"What do you mean?" Pomfrey asked.
"I will tell you as long as it stays between the two of us. No one else can know," Snape told Pomfrey and she agreed. "She told me last night that her heir ring allows Sirius Black to speak with her in their minds. I have the ring now and will be finding a way to block his voice. She said he sounds like he's gone mad and described it as annoying. It must have been bothering her more than she let on."
"The poor girl," Pomfrey breathed, staring down at Stella with pity.
"I'm sure there may be more to it if it happens as often as Mister Weasley stated, but it may be why it happened this time."
"She'll be alright here, Severus," Pomfrey promised. "I'll need to write to Molly Weasley though. Let her know that she's in the hospital wing."
"Of course," Snape nodded. "I'll leave her in your hands."
Stella woke the next day with a deep breath and unaware of where she was. She sat up slowly, looking around the hospital wing as Madame Pomfrey approached her.
"Lay back down, dear," Pomfrey told her. "You'll not be going anywhere today."
"What day is it?" Stella asked curiously. "Why am I here?"
"It's Saturday," Pomfrey answered. "What's the last thing that you remember?"
"I was talking to Professor Snape about… my detentions. Then it's all blank," Stella answered.
"Ronald Weasley brought you in yesterday afternoon. Told me this happens sometimes. I gave you a calming draught and dreamless sleep, both of which I want to give you again so you'll get a bit more rest before tomorrow."
"I'm missing the game, aren't I?" Stella asked, groaning when Pomfrey nodded. "Alright."
Stella took the potions, laying back down and closing her eyes again. The howler that was sent to her was opened by Pomfrey, who stared in disbelief at the letter Molly had sent to Stella, saying she was asking for attention and to not miss anymore classes. She glared at the pieces of the letter before vanishing them and looking towards Stella Black, seeing a scared little girl with too much weight on her shoulders.
Stella woke the next day, finding Neville in the bed next to hers fast asleep. She sat up quickly, standing and going to his bed to look him over. He had a bruise on his cheek but it seemed to be fading rather quickly. Madame Pomfrey's hand landed on Stella's shoulder, pulling her back a bit.
"Is he alright?" Stella asked, voice a whisper.
"He's fine and he'll be waking up soon," Pomfrey assured her. "There's some breakfast here for you. I want you to eat all of it. There's a stomach soother as well."
Stella nodded, sitting back on her bed and pulling the blanket over her legs. A tray was pushed towards her and Stella sighed as she took a bite of her toast.
"Mister Potter, it is not visiting hours," Pomfrey stated, hands on her hips between the two beds still.
Stella looked towards the door, finding Harry walking towards her with a cup and a plate.
"I wanted to tell Stella about the game over breakfast," Harry shrugged, taking the chair beside Stella's bed and placing his plate and cup on the side table.
"Oh, alright. Keep it down though."
Madam Pomfrey left and Stella gave Harry a bright smile.
"Is that really why you're here?" she asked him.
"Partly," he shrugged. "Do you need some blackberry jam? I brought extra in case they didn't give you any."
"Yes, please," Stella begged and Harry smiled as he spooned a bit onto Stella's plate. "So, why's Neville here?"
"Apparently Ron and Draco got into it at the game. Neville decided to try fighting Crabbe and Goyle at the same time."
"About time he stood up for himself," Stella nodded, proud of the sleeping boy. "Did you win? I know Professor Snape wasn't looking forward to refereeing."
"We won, yeah. We're ahead of your house now. I actually wanted to ask you about Professor Snape," Stella had to smirk at Harry calling Snape professor just for her sake. "How much do you trust him?"
"A lot," Stella admitted. "Why? What's happened?"
"Do you remember Professor Dumbledore telling everyone to stay away from the corridor on the third floor at the opening feast?"
"Yeah."
"There's a three-headed dog there. It's guarding something. We think Professor Snape is trying to steal it," Harry explained.
"I feel like you aren't telling me quite a bit of information," Stella told him.
"Can you just keep an eye on Professor Snape, please?" Harry practically begged. "Just until we figure out exactly what's going on?"
"And 'we' includes my brother, yes?" Stella asked curiously.
"Yeah," Harry nodded.
"If you tell me everything, I can help," Stella offered. "I'll try to keep an eye on Professor Snape either way, but still."
"I'll talk to Ron and Hermione and if they agree, we'll tell you," Harry promised. "It's just dangerous and Ron is already worried about you to be honest. I think you really gave him a scare."
"I'm fine," Stella waved Harry off. "Happens sometimes. Just a bit of rest and I'll be back to myself again."
"Good. We miss you beating Hermione in class," Harry smirked and Stella thought it was a rather Slytherin look on him. She liked it.
As the weeks went by, the teachers began piling more work on the students as the end of the year approached. Stella took to studying with Theodore and Blaise in the library, giving them her extra notes to look over from her 'detentions' with Professor Snape. She was pretty sure he'd just taken pity on her for her trip to the hospital wing and decided to make it a study session anyways, making sure she knew all of the spells she'd learned in transfiguration and charms and that she was more than adequate in potions. He'd even hinted at what they would need to brew on the exam and Stella had passed the word on to Harry so he could study the potion more.
She was walking into the library one afternoon, passing Hagrid as she stepped inside with Theodore and Blaise when she spotted Harry, Ron, and Hermione and started heading towards them.
"Dragons," Ron whispered to the other three. "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons."
"Why?" Stella asked, causing the three lions to jump as a smirk took over her face.
"None of your business," Hermione scoffed.
"We don't know yet," Harry corrected Hermione, giving her a look before looking to Stella again. "Alright, Stell?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "Came to study for defense. Need any help?"
"We have it under control," Hermione grumbled and Ron and Harry shot Hermione annoyed glances before smiling to Stella and telling her they were good.
"Let me know if you change your minds," Stella smirked, walking to an empty table with Blaise and Theo, not noticing the blond standing behind a shelf listening in.
Just over a week later, Stella was visiting Ron in the hospital wing. He had claimed to being bitten by a dog but the bite seemed too familiar to Stella. She left as Harry and Hermione went in, smiling to Harry before rolling her eyes at the look on Hermione's face. She went straight to the library, grabbing books on dragons and following her hunch until she found dragon wounds, seeing an example of an infested wound and letting out an annoyed groan.
She ended up following Harry and Hermione for the rest of the day, overhearing them talking about a plan to get rid of an illegal dragon that Hagrid had in his hut. Stella sighed before heading down to Hagrid's hut with a few different books and her camera. She knocked and Hagrid poked his head out of the window, staring at her in confusion.
"Hi, Hagrid. My name's Stella. I'm Ron's sister. He told me about the dragon and I have a few books and a camera. Thought you might want a picture of him before they leave."
Hagrid smiled brightly, opening the front door and letting her inside. Stella stared at the dragon, thinking it must be a Norwegian Ridgeback with its spikes and color. It wasn't poisonous like a Chinese Fireball, but it's mouth was full of bacteria like a Ukrainian Ironbelly.
"Oh, he's gorgeous," Stella breathed, meaning it and snapping a picture of him.
She shook out the photo, passing it to Hagrid. He had a few tears in his eyes, smiling down at the photo before pulling Stella into a bone-crushing hug. He set her down and she rubbed her sides, smiling at him. She passed him the books that Charlie had given her in the past that contained information about Ridgebacks, telling him he could keep them, causing tears to run into his beard as he hugged Stella again. She ended up leaving a few hours later with something called rock cakes in her pocket. She tried taking a bite of one once she'd left the hut but almost broke a tooth in the process, causing her to frown and toss the cakes the moment she was back in the castle, keeping one to take to Ron.
Ron frowned when he saw Stella, not sure why she was visiting him again. She placed the rock cake on his dinner tray without a word and turned on her heel, leaving Ron panicking as she went. She sat between Blaise and Theodore at dinner, the two asking where she'd run off to and her just shrugging rather than answering. In truth, she'd gotten rather good at sneaking around the castle during Christmas break, finding hidden passageways that took her to different floors and tapestries she could hide behind. She wonder what else the castle was hiding.
Hermione, Harry, Neville, and Draco had detention but none of them would say what for. Stella knew they'd been caught somehow. Neville seemed upset with Hermione and Harry though, so she made sure to check on Neville often, causing him to smile and pass her a sugar quill that his gran had sent him the week before. In exchange, she mail ordered a pile of cauldron cakes to be delivered to him at lunch. He smiled brightly across the hall to Stella before he began sticking closer to her in the halls, still trying to avoid the other Slytherins in the process, though. Luckily, Blaise and Theodore were more than happy to pick Neville's brain a bit on Herbology and Charms, both subjects that Neville really liked.
The day after detention, Neville told her all about the forest and how terrified he had been. He also told her about Draco shrieking like a little girl and leaving Harry on his own in the forest, causing Stella to drag Draco behind a tapestry after class and call him a coward for leaving someone by themselves when there was obviously danger.
She yelled at Ron next for keeping her out of the loop, insisting she could have helped had he told her himself what was going on. She figured the Cerberus had been protecting the dragon egg, something Snape definitely would have been interested in considering how many potions ingredients he could get from a dragon and stopped worrying about everything. She was rather cross at Ron for leaving her out. They were supposed to be brother and sister. They stole cookies for one another when mum wasn't looking, which was the scariest thing Stella could ever think of having done in the past. Mum was scary!
Stella had studied hard and was rather proud of how well she thought she was doing on her exams. Special quills had been given during the exams so no one could cheat. The practical exams were actually rather exciting. Professor Flitwick called everyone in one at a time to see if they could make a pineapple tap dance across a desk, Stella having her pineapple tip his imaginary hat when he was finished. McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuffbox – points were given for how pretty the snuffbox was but taken away if it had whiskers. Stella felt bad for turning a living thing into a box, telling McGonagall as much before doing her spell, even making a doily appear under the box. She turned the box back into a mouse the moment McGonagall finished looking the box over.
Professor Snape made everyone except her nervous as they brewed forgetfulness potion. Stella smiled as she brewed, feeling rather proud as she finished her potion first. Snape smirked when she handed the potion in, giving her a nod, telling Stella without words that she'd done well. She practically skipped to the history of magic exam, Theodore having helped her and Blaise with the subject. An hour after the exam, Stella fell into her normal seat in Snape's office.
"I take it by your smile you did well?" Snape asked, not even looking up.
"How can you tell that I'm smiling, sir?" Stella asked. "You didn't even look up."
"You bounce into my office and fall into your chair when you're happy about something. Smiles tend to go along with happiness."
"True, sir. Need any help grading the first-year potions?" she asked, having helped Snape in the past with class assignments.
"Unfortunately I am not allowed to accept help when grading such an important potion. It is also not why I called you in here. Professor Flitwick and I have blocked Sirius Black from being able to reach you through your heir ring," he told her, passing her the ring, which Stella immediately slid onto her finger. "The spells will need to be renewed every few months, so you are to see me when school starts again so that I may do so."
"Do you mind if I take more of your time and ask how you did it, sir?" Stella requested, already pulling her notebook out.
Snape explained the process to her for the next three hours, writing a few runes down for her in her notebook that she could look up later or learn about later in her schooling career. Snape knew she wouldn't wait though. She wanted to learn as much as she possibly could, prove to herself and to others that she was more than the name 'Black.' He couldn't really blame her either. Regulus had been the same way when he was younger. Snape wondered how much it would have bothered Sirius Black to know how much like his younger brother his daughter was like. He hoped it would have ate him up inside.
Stella was visiting Ron in the hospital wing again, looking more panicked this time than she had before. Hermione was sitting up in her hospital bed, but Harry and Ron were both out cold. She ran to Ron's bed, Fred and George following behind her a few minutes later. She stared down at Ron as Pomfrey tried to assure the three that Ron would be fine.
"What about Harry?" Stella asked, looking towards the other boy.
"He will also be fine," Pomfrey assured Stella, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Are you alright?" Stella asked Hermione, looking the girl over.
"I'm fine," Hermione answered, staring at Stella in confusion.
Stella just nodded sitting on the edge of Ron's bed and taking his hand. She received another howler from Molly, yelling at her for not keeping Ron out of trouble, another following right after because the twins blew up yet another toilet. She opened them at the table, not even listening as Molly's voice went on, just continuing to eat her lunch without batting an eye. Theodore, Blaise, and Draco seemed angry at the howlers, as did Fred and George when they heard them, going straight to the Slytherin table to check on Stella.
"I'm fine," she waved them off. "I stopped listening after the first two honestly."
"The first two?" Fred asked, brows raised.
"How many have you gotten?"
"Five, I think," Stella shrugged. "I don't know. Like I said, I stopped listening."
Ron and Hermione were released from the hospital wing the next day, Harry having to stay a few days more. Ron told her in a whispered voice what had happened and Stella glared at him, whispering back angrily about how he should have told her so she could help them. He apologized a few hundred times before Stella hugged him, just grateful that he was alright now. She went to visit Harry every so often, finding him still asleep, which is why it was a surprise when she walked in with Ron and Hermione one afternoon to find Harry completely awake and going through a photo album.
"Hagrid gave it to me," Harry shrugged, showing it to them.
Hermione and Ron didn't seem too interested, but Stella was. Harry flipped through different pictures, showing them to Stella excitedly. Stella's smile turned into a frown of confusion when she saw her father laughing behind Harry's father at his parents wedding. She pointed to him.
"Must have been one of their friends," Harry shrugged.
"That's my father," she whispered so that only Harry could hear her.
Harry stared at her with wide eyes before looking back at the photo again. She pointed to a woman who stood beside Sirius Black and Harry understood that the woman was Stella's mother. Harry approached the Slytherin table a few days later, going straight to Stella and causing all of the Slytherins to stare at them in confusion. Harry said nothing, just gave Stella a sad smile and passed her a copy of the photo. She stared down at it for a moment before looking to Harry, thanking him before he left the table to join the Slytherins. She slipped the photo into her journal with the articles.
The Slytherins had an excited buzz about them. They had the most points after all, meaning they'd won the house cup. Stella was smiling and laughing as Theodore made the fruit on their table dance around the table. Dumbledore stood and the hall fell quiet, staring up at him and waiting for him to announce the Slytherin victory.
"Another year gone. And now, as I understand it, the house cup needs awarding. And the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor with 312 points."
There is a medium applause from the crowd.
"Third place, Hufflepuff with 352 points."
The applause for Hufflepuff was slightly louder than the clapping for Gryffindor.
"In second place, Ravenclaw with 426 points."
Applause again, this time with a slight cheer from some students.
"And in first place, with 472 points, Slytherin house."
A loud roar rose from the Slytherin table, as students stood up and clapped for themselves. Stella actually hugged Blaise. Snape applauded the students of his house but still had a sour expression on his face, causing Stella to frown. He caught her eye and shook his head, causing Stella look to Dumbledore with narrowed eyes.
"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin. Well done, Slytherin. However, recent events must be taken into account. And I have a few last-minute points to award. To Miss Hermione Granger, for the cool use of intellect while others were in grave peril, 50 points."
"What?" Blaise asked, confused.
"Oh, no," Stella breathed, eyes widening as she realized what was about to happen.
"Second, to Mr. Ronald Weasley, for the best played game of chess that Hogwarts has seen these many years, 50 points."
Ron looked beyond surprised when Stella looked over to him.
"Is he about to…?" Theodore asked, staring at Dumbledore in shock.
"He is," Stella said, anger clear in her voice.
"And third, to Mr. Harry Potter, for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house 60 points."
"We're tied," Draco stated, aghast.
The Gryffindors cheered again, this time even louder than before. Malfoy had a cringing look on his face that Stella was sure matched the same look on her own face. The Gryffindors looked so hopeful and the Slytherins were already accepting their fate.
"And finally, it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends. I award 10 points to Neville Longbottom. Assuming that my calculations are correct, I believe that a change of decoration is in order." Dumbledore clapped and motioned his hands toward the Slytherin banners, where they flapped heavily until the banners changed completely to red and gold with the Gryffindor symbol. "Gryffindor wins the House Cup."
The Great Hall exploded with applause, not only from the Gryffindors, but also from the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs because they were glad that for the first time in seven years, someone other than Slytherin has won the House Cup. Stella wanted to be proud of Neville and her brother, but she was finding it rather hard. Fred mused Ron's hair and Ron did the same to Harry at the Gryffindor table and Stella felt so alone over at the Slytherin table, a bit of jealousy running through her as she watched her brothers cheering without her.
Results from final exams came in and Stella smiled brightly before seeing that Hermione was just a point ahead of her for top of the class. She let out an annoyed growl, causing Blaise, Theodore, and Draco to stare at what she was looking at.
"We'll have to fix that next year," Blaise said, glaring at the paper.
"Yes, we will," Theodore agreed and Stella didn't feel so alone anymore.
And suddenly their wardrobes were empty and their trunks were packed. Stella passed Neville his toad again, stealing Scabbers back from Ron. Scabbers squeaking in what Stella hoped was happiness. He crawled onto her shoulder, staying there as she headed to the train with Blaise and Theodore, the three laughing together at the look on Parkinson's face and the screech she'd let out upon seeing Scabbers. They boarded the Hogwarts Express and Stella sat with the two boys, the three having their own compartment as they played exploding snaps and ate handfuls of snacks, Stella feeding Scabbers a bit of a pumpkin pasty along the way.
George found her just before the train was reaching the station, taking her away from her fellow Slytherins and helping her with her trunk. It took quite a while for them to get off the platform. A wizened old guard was up by the ticket barrier, letting them go through the gate in twos and threes so they didn't attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles.
"You have to come visit this summer," Ron told Harry and Stella nodded. "Both of you. I'll send an owl."
Stella wanted to complain about the invitation being extended to Hermione but she left it alone. Fred and George snickered at Stella's facial expression though, both able to tell that Stella wasn't thrilled about the idea of spending any of her time with Hermione that summer.
"Thanks," said Harry. "I need something to look forward to."
People jostled them as they moved forward toward the gateway back to the Muggle world. Some of them called:
"Bye, Harry!"
"See you, Potter!"
"Still famous," said Ron, grinning at him.
"Not where I'm going, I promise you," said Harry.
The younger four passed through the gateway together.
"There he is, Mum, there he is, look!" Ginny's voice cut through the crowd and Stella smiled at her younger sister. "Harry Potter! Look, mum!"
"Be quiet, Ginny, and it's rude to point," Mum smiled down at Harry and Ron. "Busy year?"
"Very," said Harry. "Thanks for the fudge and the sweater, Mrs. Weasley."
"Oh, it was nothing, dear."
Stella froze up at the nickname. Molly Weasley used different nicknames for all of her children, making sure they all knew how important they were to her individually through the action. Even Fred and George had separate nicknames. Ron seemed confused as he stared at his mum before looking to Stella to see how she was reacting. He could see Stella trying not to shut down and squeezed her hand, bringing her back to him.
"Ready, are you?" a purple-faced man with a mustache appeared, looking rather angrily at Harry.
"You must be Harry's family," Molly smiled brightly.
"In a manner of speaking," the man stated. "Hurry up, boy, we haven't got all day."
Harry hung back as his uncle walked away, turning to Stella, Hermione, and Ron.
"See you over the summer, then," he said, trying to break up the awkwardness.
"Hope you have a good holiday," Hermione answered, looking uncertainly towards Harry's 'family'.
"Oh, I will," Harry smirked a Slytherin smile again. "They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley over this summer."
Harry hugged Stella before waving goodbye to Hermione and Ron, Hermione looking a bit put off by the lack of hug for herself and Stella felt a bit warm inside from it before Blaise and Theodore went to her side, both giving her small hugs before rushing over to Rose Zabini and being led away. Draco approached the group slowly, his mother following after him.
"Mrs. Weasley," Narcissa spoke up, gaining the attention of the Weasley matriarch. "I was hoping Stella would be able to visit over the summer?"
"Oh," Molly whispered. "I'll have to speak with Arthur. I'll write you after I speak with him."
Stella knew her mum wouldn't write Narcissa at any point as she fiddled with her heir ring, exchanging a look with Draco.
"I look forward to hearing from you," Narcissa responded, giving Stella a small smile before placing a hand on Draco's back and leading him away.
Draco and Stella exchanged waves before Stella followed the Weasley's out of the train station. Stella could see the tension between her mum's shoulders as she sent everyone else away, keeping Stella in the living room. Stella knew the twins would be listening in at the doorway, Ron and Ginny maybe trying to be brave and listen in as well. Molly turned on Stella, anger clear on her face.
"I want an explanation. Now."
"For what?" Stella asked, confused.
"You got over two months' worth of detention this year," Molly reminded her.
"Oh," Stella fiddled with her ring.
"Is that it, then?" Molly asked, pointing at the ring. "Give it to me."
"No," Stella pulled her hand close to her chest and covering it with her other hand.
"Give it here or you will be grounded until you do," Molly threatened.
Stella glared at her mum defiantly, refusing to hand her heir ring over.
"Go to your room," Molly told her and Stella ran from the living room, passing Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, and Percy in the process.
She had a feeling it was going to be a long summer.